FoundersCard for the Super Churner

There is yet another fake black card out there called FoundersCard to flaunt elite status. This one is catered to entrepreneur that wants a leg up in getting their awesome company into the mainstream to become a billionaire. This of course, represents the opposite of what the other black card, SELECT card stands for which is a party happy playboy who doesn’t care to make money since it’s all about spending down the trust fund YOLO style. I went for the card mainly for the Diamond Status for Cesar’s Palace to get my resort fee waived along with 4 nights at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas by Feb 2018. Two things that I haven’t taken advantage of since it takes three weeks just for the status to go through! I submitted my request while staying at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to get this message:

Important: Based on where your request is in the queue, you should receive the upgrade by August 4, 2017. We are not able to accommodate any expedite requests. When your upgrade is complete, you will receive a confirmation email from FoundersCard. At that point, your TotalRewards account will reflect Diamond Status, and you can visit the TotalRewards desk upon your next trip to collect your Diamond credentials. Please do not contact TotalRewards for status updates while you are waiting for the upgrade, as it can often delay the upgrade process.

So the one time I got to stay at a Total Rewards Hotel, I didn’t even get to use the lounge or get the resort fee waived. I am sad to report it is hard to churn this particular card. I am so very close to recovering the $295 a year for two years I spent on a FoundersCard membership. Now that pricing is only good when you buy 2 years up front! Here are the codes:

$295 annual rate if you prepay your first two years (renews at $295 annually) using promo code FCLFT2YR$395 annual rate using promo code FCLFT1YR

I am in it for $590 already and I haven’t become Elon Musk or Steve Jobs. I haven’t blown the deal out of the water like I have with every other product I got. The card has made me go out of my way to spend money I would have not spent at all, just to “save money” with the card.

Here is what I have recovered so far since I am normal folk, I haven’t gotten as much value as an actual businessman:

Membership (1 yr)

$295

Trunk Club

($100)

GroundLink

($30)

Entrepreneur Magazine

($10.99)

Dollar Shave Club

($18)

Inc. Magazine

($13)

Tripit Pro

($49)

Still left

$74

Not quantified above is the party I got invited to at The Gray Hotel down the street from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. I brought two friends and has a good time. Just open bar with beer and wine, along with some pretty gross deep fried crouton passed appetizers. I guess that could be $74 right there. So lets say I broke even for the year, we can critically analyze what value each redemption is.

Several thousand dollars of clothing on display

Trunk Club

Excellent service, they give you $100 credit for signing up, however $100 buys you 2/3rds of a shirt, and less than half a pair of designer jeans. I met with my stylist at the HP location that is soon to be closing. Pretty hard sell on every item, and free beer makes it impossible to spend just the $100 credit on 5 pairs of socks. I ended up buying an entire outfit for $500 just to save $100. It was fun though, but not exactly $400 fun! Perfect for those that feel joy from retail therapy.

Ground Link

Even with the existing account created with my US Bank Altitude card, they placed another $30 in ride credit just to have this new relationship. I prefer this over Uber as you can schedule these rides months in advance. I combined this with the current $50 off of $150 spend on AmEx Offers as a double dip.

Inc. & Entrepreneur Magazine

Two more magazines to add to my pile of Departures from AmEx Platinum, Luxury from Barclay Luxury card, and Andrew Harper’s Hideaway from US Bank Altitude. More reading material for the patient waiting room!

Tripit Pro

I used to get Tripit Pro for free with my Barclay’s Arrival+ but that was killed off years ago. Nice service and links up to your workplace Concur account.

Dollar Shave Club

Good service, but they are rebranded DORCO razors that you can get even cheaper online. I combined this offer with the AmEx Offer of 1,000 points when you spend $10 at DSC.

Stuff I already had counts against FoundersCard value

Now I am not saying FoundersCard is some scam, there are lots of benefits here, but a lot I already have with my other products:

5% off on jetBlue flights

Already get $100 off with Visa Discount Flight with the RC Card which include United, America, and pretty much every major airlines. I was able to book a round trip ORD to BOS for two adults and an infant for $126.4 per segment on jet Blue. I was also able to get Mosaic match with my United status. The best the FoundersCard portal can do is to get 5% off the same flight for $166 a segment.

Final thoughts

I am registered as the Editor in Chief for Derp Report on the FoundersCard. I guess if this silly blog ever takes off and I have an entire team of people under me the business benefits such as UPS discounts, AA Airpass, hosting services at rack space. If you are just an individual you might be hard stretched to max out the benefits of a $590 membership.